Smartglasses are a big deal at this year’s CES, and the Halliday Glasses have a unique take.
The AR startup is talking up its “proactive AI” eyewear which features an invisible lens-free display. It uses “DigiWindow technology” to project information within a user’s field of vision.
Many smart glasses, such as the Vuzix Z100, use a waveguide etched onto the glass to create the visual experience. But that is *really* expensive and means that anyone with a prescription will need to have a waveguide added…and that is fairly unrealistic.
Halliday gets around this by projecting the visuals straight into the eyeball (ick) using a kind of mini projector LED on the inside of the frame. Excuse the press picture below but it does a better job of explaining how it works.
I gave it a try and the visuals were super clear – more so than with many waveguide glasses I’ve tried. However, if you think this kind of experience is going to be epic full HD visuals think again. It’s like looking at an 80s radio alarm clock close up.
The glasses are controlled via a trackpad or voice commands. And the proactive AI anticipates user needs, providing real-time solutions without waiting for prompts. It can summarize meetings and supposedly deliver context-aware information. It can also offer translations and turn-by-turn navigation.
On the stand at Unveiled we didn’t get too much AI experience. But while the glasses were thin and light (at under 40g) the only issue from my short trial was getting the positioning of the visuals right. You need to put the glasses on slowly to get the positioning right. The projector element can be moved left and right and angled up and down to get the position right.
Once set, it should mean you can pop the glasses on and off with ease. In reality, on the stand at CES Unveiled, I found this a little agricultural to use and knocked it a fair few times and lost my eye position. It would be much smarter if the projector could position itself onto your gaze, but granted, this would be technologically much more challenging.
Halliday Glasses are available for pre-order at $489, with an early bird offer of $369 for customers placing a $9.99 deposit. Shipping is expected by the end of Q1 2025.
